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This auction on Ebay caught my attention because of the unusual wheels.
The blurb reads: “This model has been restored and looks very good. It was always a tan model. The underside has not been resprayed and shows the original colour on the rivet/clip holding the base in place.”
The implication is therefore that this was a GPW 46b Beales which has been restored to its former glory. However, if that is true then, in so doing, the seller has destroyed a previously unrecorded variation. Now, it is quite possible that the model’s base had been swapped a long time ago and that it originally started out as a normal BPW example. However, it could also be that a handful of GPW baseplates were sold to Beales and that this was one of them.
Has anyone ever heard of a GPW Beales before?

No, I've never heard of a Beales Bealesons with GPW. Count me a skeptic on this. Did you see photos from the front to see if it is the correct casting?

matchbox_n_molars wrote:Did you see photos from the front to see if it is the correct casting?

If you scroll down in the linked listing, you will see that the photographs confirm this as the correct (i.e. second type) casting.

Hello all
I am no expert on restorations but when I look at the axel ends, all four of them look like dome heads and none look they were rounded over.

The description talks about the base not being sprayed and the quality of the rivits but is silent on whether other modifications were done to the base. My feeling is the axles were cut and the GPWs were added.

I defer to those with greater experience and look forward to your comments.

Kurt

The condition of the plastic wheels does not match the condition of the axles and the baseplate.

Plastic wheels would yield their new recently moulded with sprue break-off point finish, with the amount of play ware apparent from the look of the base!

That's my take on it.

GHOSTHUNTER.

I tnink with the repaint, the reproduction decals and the GPW ... the model is too heavily modified to be sconsidered as anything other than a custom or recreation. Any possible connection to a real Beales van (if there ever was any) has been destroyed.

Tinman wrote:Any possible connection to a real Beales van (if there ever was any) has been destroyed.

...which is extremely unfortunate since, unlikely as it may seem, it might, just might, have been a previously unrecorded variation.

The decal is a reproduction IMHO. It is missing the dot in between Beales and Bealsons. Only genuine examples of this rare promo have this distingtive dot to my knowledge.

motorman wrote:The decal is a reproduction IMHO. It is missing the dot in between Beales and Bealsons. Only genuine examples of this rare promo have this distingtive dot to my knowledge.

If you read the blurb in the Ebay listing, you will find that the seller restored this model from an original tan example.

Idris wrote:

motorman wrote:The decal is a reproduction IMHO. It is missing the dot in between Beales and Bealsons. Only genuine examples of this rare promo have this distingtive dot to my knowledge.

If you read the blurb in the Ebay listing, you will find that the seller restored this model from an original tan example.

Thanks Hugh, i am still tring to catch up so didnt have time to digest the full postings